around you | nct

42

ncity

jun
okay guys it's been approximately 10 days since i've seen hyuck and it's starting to make me nervous

jisung
^^
yeah it was fun using his room at first, but i'm getting a bit concerned

hendery
what should we do

chenle
call the police?

xiaojun
for a grown man?

jaemin
true
what are they gonna do? send out an amber alert?

jeno
besides didn't he say he was fine?
it's not like we haven't had contact with him

jun
woah
so you all have something against hyuck huh

xiaojun
no we're saying hyuck's not a child
if he wanted to go home he would

jeno
^
he's probably still at his mom's
i'll text him and see if he replies

mark
uh
guys

hendery
what is it this time...

mark
why did hyuck's mom just call and ask if hyuck was with me?

jun
I TOLD Y'ALL
oh my god haechan is dead.

jaemin
okay let's calm down
he's not dead
but this is a bit concerning

mark
if he's not at his mom's
where else could he be

_

hyuck
hey yoon

mimi
hyuck ??
you're still alive?

hyuck
very funny
are you home?

mimi
i was definitely not joking
but yes as always
why do u wanna know

hyuck
open the door

the girl blinked down at her phone in confusion before getting up and walking to the door. the moment yoonmi swung it open, she was suddenly enveloped in a hug.

"hyuck? is everything alright?" she asked, surprised at the boy's unusual embrace.

"mhmm," he replied, face buried into the crook of her neck as his arms tightened around her.

yoonmi pondered his response as she hugged him back. they stood like that for a few minutes, hyuck not saying a word as yoon rubbed his back tentatively.

"hyuck?"

"yes?"

"i need to shut the door, could you-," she says awkwardly, and the boy releases her begrudgingly. she shuts the door, turning the lock before joining him on the couch.

"did something happen?," she asks tentatively and the boy runs his fingers through his hair with a sigh.

it's only then that she notices his puffy eyelids and red nose. "hyuck, what's wrong?" she repeats, bringing a hand to his face.

"it's nothing that hasn't happened before, i'm fine, really." he replied as he removed her hand from his cheek, instead intertwining his fingers with hers. "it's childish for me to cry about it."

"no," yoonmi said firmly, "whatever it is, it's not childish. you shouldn't invalidate your own feelings, hyuck. now, tell me what happened."

the boy took a deep breath before opening his mouth again. "it's my dad," he began, "for most of my life, he's acted like i didn't exist. which doesn't seem to bother my mom at all."

"out of nowhere, my dad asked to see me earlier tonight," hyuck continued, "and i know i shouldn't have said yes, because the same thing happens everytime. he just goes on about how worthless i am and how i shouldn't have ever been born. but some dumb part of me thought it might be different this time, that he might apologize or something. of course i was wrong, but it still hurt."

yoonmi faltered, not expecting any of this to come out of the boy's mouth. she'd never thought much about haechan's home life, assuming he'd had a nice upbringing and family. it was hard to think otherwise, considering the boy was always so bright.

but seeing him like this, and knowing he probably hasn't gotten this off his chest before, made yoonmi's heart ache.

hyuck laughed upon noticing her eyes begin to pool with tears. "stop crying, yoon."

she pulled him into a tight embrace, holding him like that for a while before he spoke up.

"yoonmi."

"yeah?"

"i'm hungry."

she released the boy before blinking at him. "honestly, me too."

the two proceeded to spend fifteen minutes arguing over what to order before eventually getting both pizza and chicken delivered.

"thanks for tonight, by the way," the boy mumbled, eyes cast on the movie they were in the middle of watching. "i really didn't wanna go back to the house and deal with my roommate's questioning me."

yoonmi pinched his shoulder, setting her slice of pizza down. "don't thank me, dummy. i'm glad you came here."

"you know," she began, turning to look at the boy. "i have an idea."

he gave her a blank look and she clapped her hands together. "you could stay here tonight and go back tomorrow."

he raised an eyebrow. "are you sure about that?"

"yes, of course. why wouldn't i be?" she grinned, proud of her problem solving skills as she lifted another chicken drumstick to her mouth.

"you realize i'm a guy, right?"

"what?" yoonmi fake gasped, covering her mouth. "no way!"

"i hate you."

"sure you do, that's why you're sitting in my house watching tangled with me."